We aim to influence the theory, analysis and practice of development worldwide to the benefit of disadvantaged people and countries, and to support international networks and local institutions involved in this endeavour.

Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.

“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”

We aim to influence the theory, analysis and practice of development worldwide to the benefit of disadvantaged people and countries, and to support international networks and local institutions involved in this endeavour.

We aim to influence the theory, analysis and practice of development worldwide to the benefit of disadvantaged people and countries, and to support international networks and local institutions involved in this endeavour.

Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.

“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”

Our students are taught to develop as critical and independent thinkers and when they leave us they are equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to bring about real change.

“My time at Oxford strengthened my critical analysis and provided me with a unique interdisciplinary grounding in history, politics and economics that has equipped me well in dealing with public policy issues and program development strategy.”

We aim to influence the theory, analysis and practice of development worldwide to the benefit of disadvantaged people and countries, and to support international networks and local institutions involved in this endeavour.

Migration and Refugees in a Global Context

The integration of global markets now permits free movement of capital, goods and services, but the same is not true of people. Migration in its various forms has become a central feature of international development in its economic, political, legal, social and cultural dimensions. Oxford now leads the world in research on this vital subject.

The department has recognised strength in the fields of refugee studies – including forced migration and internal displacement – in a world where almost all refugees come from developing countries; and in the analysis, modelling and understanding of international migration flows both between developing and developed countries, and within developing regions themselves.

Our strength in this field is due primarily to the Refugee Studies Centre (RSC) and a group of migration-focussed academics in the department, who between 2006 and 2017 worked as part of the International Migration Institute (IMI).